I'm a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute and have written for a wide
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Obama's Plan To Seize Control Of Our Economy And Our Lives

President Obama has made clear that he’s determined to continue pushing his “progressive” agenda, regardless of constitutional limitations on his power. He aims to have his way by issuing more and more executive orders.

The most ominous sign of possible things to come appeared on March 16, 2012, when President Obama signed executive order 13603 about “National Defense Resources Preparedness.”

This 10-page document is a blueprint for a federal takeover of the economy that would dwarf the looming Obamacare takeover of the health insurance business. Specifically, Obama’s plan involves seizing control of:

* “All commodities and products that are capable of being ingested by either human beings or animals”

To be sure, much of this language has appeared in national security executive orders that previous presidents have issued periodically since the beginning of the Cold War.

But more than previous national security executive orders, Obama’s 13603 seems to describe a potentially totalitarian regime obsessed with control over everything. Obama’s executive order makes no effort to justify the destruction of liberty, no effort to explain how amassing totalitarian control would enable government to deal effectively with cyber sabotage, suicide bombings, chemical warfare, nuclear missiles or other possible threats. It’s quite likely there would be greater difficulty responding to threats, since totalitarian regimes suffer from economic chaos, colossal waste, massive corruption and bureaucratic infighting that are inevitable consequences of extreme centralization. Such problems plagued fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, communist China and other regimes. Totalitarian control would probably trigger resistance movements and underground networks like those that developed in Western Europe during the Nazi occupation. Totalitarian control could provoke more political turmoil than there was in the Vietnam War era of the 1960s. There would probably be a serious brain drain as talented people with critical skills escaped to freedom wherever that might be. Canada?

There’s nothing in executive order 13603 about upholding the Constitution or protecting civil liberties.

Obama’s executive order seems to assume that the next war will be like World War II or World War I, where vast armies of unskilled conscripts went at each other. But current trends suggest that future conflicts are more likely to involve smaller numbers of military personnel – highly-trained professionals, perhaps thousands of miles away from a battlefield, who remotely-control drones, pilotless combat helicopters, unmanned ground vehicles, unmanned ships, mobile security robots and related military technologies.

Even if Obama’s 13603 were no different than previous national security executive orders, it’s more worrisome because it was issued by the president who rammed Obamacare and runaway spending bills through Congress, who racked up $5 trillion of debt and surrounded himself with hardcore “progressives” hostile to the private sector and America as we have known it.

In what circumstances, one might ask, would a president try to carry out this audacious plan?

Executive order 13603 says with ominous ambiguity: during “the full spectrum of emergencies.”

Well, the United States is already in a state of national emergency declared by President George W. Bush on September 14, 2001 and extended last year by President Obama.

To better understand the potentially explosive impact of his plan, let’s take a tour through the dark world of executive orders, a type of presidential power that most people know little, if anything, about.

Many presidents have pushed to expand their power beyond constitutional limits, particularly during crises. Issuing executive orders is the easiest way to do it. A president doesn’t have to propose an executive order, debate the issues, endure hearings or solicit votes. An executive order can be issued in a few minutes — behind closed doors and away from bright lights.

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I’m surprised this made it into Forbes. But I understand why. Forbes is about business and private enterprise. This executive order is a slap in the face to private enterprise and to the United States. Those that disagree that this would never happen only need to go to their unaltered history books and research what FDR did in the 1930′s. FDR imprisoned Asian-Americans, created anti-hoarding laws, made gold illegal for private ownership, the list goes on. Most of this was done with what? Executive Orders and strong arming congress and stacking the supreme court. Something like what is going on today with examples like NDAA and CISPA. Oh, FDR was a good democrat.

I see most of the current laws being passed (rubber stamped) and executive orders as nothing more than setting up a legal defensive posture against their own citizens. It cannot be unconstitutional if there is a law or executive order bypassing the constitution, would it?

Rex River- I wouldn’t sweat the Chinese. There is another source in the US, why would DOD spend millions of dollars building a road that’s wide enough for 8 lanes across an island in southeast Alaska going to a village with the population of a 1300 or so?

NCguy11- The point is: it’s bad for business if your company has been nationalized and you no longer own or control it. Have you spent any time and read through the executive order? Perhaps you should. While you’re at it, search for “ISM 1948″ on youtube and watch that as well. perhaps it’ll make more sense then.

you think Obama has a personality disorder? This need for control & punishment for those not in agreement seems like a bully would act this way; underneath his public personna may be someone very insecure & afraid. Mr. Powell, from your study of history you know of many world leaders thru time that have fallen due to their greed & insecurity. If a move to impeach Obama began, in light of these anti-constutional exec orders, it would really tip things.

How much knowledge of the constitution & understanding of our do you suppose these polits in DC have. Seems to me everyone in politics & finance is so driven by money, that they can see anything else. What happened to the “checks & balances” and states’ rights provided in the constitution.

you think Obama has a personality disorder? This need for control & punishment for those not in agreement seems like a bully would act this way; underneath his public personna may be someone very insecure & afraid. Mr. Powell, from your study of history you know of many world leaders thru time that have fallen due to their greed & insecurity. If a move to impeach Obama began, in light of these anti-constitutional exec orders, it would really tip things.

How much knowledge of the constitution & understanding of our constitution do you suppose these politicians in DC have. Seems to me everyone in politics & finance is so driven by money, that they can’t see anything else. What happened to the “checks & balances” and states’ rights provided in the constitution.

It will be up to the Ron Paul campaign to continue “stealing” delegates from Romney (lol) and to win the nomination. Paul polls best vs. Obama in numerous accredited voter surveys so he is likeliest to win if he is nominated. Paul will use executive orders for only one purpose, the repeal of most, if not all, of those 13,603 prior executive orders.

This article seems to make some people very defensive. I hope that they will lower their guard long enough to please share their point of view on my understandings in this article:

First, if we can eliminate party affiliation from this discussion it would be greatly appreciated. I’d argue this a reasonable request because over a long enough period of time every political party will have had a number within its upper ranks who should rightly be restricted from fulfilling their ambitions for power.

If we are no longer talking about any political party, there remains the two individuals named specifically in the article. I’d request that we eliminate these two names as well because if we focus on them we will be distracted from the principle and underlying understandings I’m asking your point of view on.

If we bypass political party and the named individuals, what is your view on the following from the article?

1. The executive branch collects powers over time. Each power gained is available to all subsequent executives.

2. Most powers which have been collected were previously held by either the congress, the courts, or reserved to the states and to the people.

3. The potential checks on the collected executive powers are severely weakened by neglect over time because new powers reinforce the retention of lesser earlier powers in the executive.

4. Over a long enough period of time, perhaps many generations, it is conceivable, even likely, that these powers will fall into the hands a wrong headed person at the convergence of events who will abuse the collected powers and harm people we cannot now know.

5. We also cannot be certain what later generations of our families will believe and hold dear nor how their beliefs will position them when the executive powers are exercised. Will it be their businesses and properties that will be seized or forced under? Will they be the ones held indefinitely and without habeas corpus? Will they be made to labor at the executive’s whim? Will they be forced to fight in a war they abhor? Will they be executed without a trial and without the requirement of any evidence ever being produced?

6. The potential fates listed above are all possible to anyone now or in the future with the executive powers collected thus far.

7. If we do not become check these powers before they are used, who will suffer the task of attempting to check them while they are in use?

poor president obama getting flack from right wingers. don’t both left and right wings know that he’s only a puppet doing what the bilderburgs want to make a one world government with only one leader? how do you do it? answer socialization of the entire world. if romney gets in, he do the same as obama. chill, all our freedom is coming to an end. say goodbye to capitalism, parting will be sweet sorrow.

Jim, You stole my blogs. For months I’ve been saying that this government is heading towards totalitarianism. Most people think I’m crazy and many here might as well and that’s OK. The great thing about the US is we have a first amendment or at least what is left of it. Being an Objectivist, I hold personal rights to a very high standard. The government is meddling way to much into our personal lives. Thanks for the article and it’s nice to know that I’m not the only one that see’s the truth.

The defense does know that Americans can have free water and that everything is free and Obama does know you can have money and he worked on healthcare so whats the problem, really nothing because people know what is free and free water is pretty free.